HBA-SEP C.S.H.B. 2798 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2798
By: Menendez
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/27/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Few effective options exist for law enforcement to stop fleeing vehicles
safely.  Other than physical arrest, vehicle pursuit is the most common
high-liability area of law enforcement.  A 1996 report by the National Law
Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center estimates that a collision of
some type can be expected to occur in 32 percent of police pursuits.  When
the severity of these collisions is analyzed, 20 percent will result in
property damage, 13 percent will result in personal injury, and 1.2 percent
will result in a fatality.  Approximately 70 percent of all pursuit-related
injuries and fatalities will involve the occupants of the pursued vehicle,
while 14 percent will involve law enforcement and 15 percent, innocent,
uninvolved parties.  Increasing the penalty and financial responsibility
for persons convicted of evading arrest or detention may serve as a
deterrent for future incidents.  C.S.H.B. 2798 increases the penalty and
financial responsibility for a person convicted of evading arrest or
detention. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2798 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to add to the
definition of "victim," in relation to provisions regarding restitution
liens, an individual who suffers damages as a result of another evading
arrest or detention, in which the defendant used a motor vehicle while the
defendant was in flight.  The bill adds that the state has a restitution
lien to secure the amount of damages incurred by the state as a result of a
defendant using a motor vehicle while the actor is in flight to evade
arrest or detention (evading arrest).  The bill increases, from a Class A
misdemeanor to a state jail felony, the penalty for evading arrest or
detention if the actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the
actor has not been previously convicted for evading arrest.  The bill also
increases, from a state jail felony to a third degree felony, the penalty
for using a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has
previously been convicted for evading arrest.    

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2798 modifies the original to  increase, from a Class A
misdemeanor to a state jail felony, the penalty for evading arrest or
detention if the actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the
actor has not been previously convicted for evading arrest or detention.
The substitute also increases, from a state jail felony to a third degree
felony, the penalty for using a vehicle while the actor is in flight and
the actor has previously been convicted for evading arrest or detention.